


Reading Buddies

by Tamasha



Series: Reading Buddies [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bullying, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Kid Fic, Modern Era, Other, Protectiveness, Reading Aloud, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:44:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4337966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur's third grade class is assigned kindergartener reading buddies. Arthur ends up with a boy named Merlin who likes knights and they end up becoming friends. Meanwhile, Arthur is trying to avoid Morgause, who is bullying him, but Gwaine thinks he needs to stand up for himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reading Buddies

**Author's Note:**

> written by Natasha

"When I call out your name, you will come and sit next to the child you are assigned as your buddy. You may introduce yourselves and then wait for further instructions." Mr. Gaius started pairing up kids and Arthur waited, excited for his turn.

Gwaine nudged him in the ribs. "I hope I get that kid," he said. He pointed to a little boy with a rather dopey expression who was wearing a Manchester United jersey. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I just hope I get someone interesting," Arthur whispered back.

Finally, Mr. Gaius called him up and pointed out which boy he should sit with. He was one of the adorable ones and he watched Arthur approach with wide, blue eyes. "Hi, I am Arthur," Arthur introduced himself and extended a hand.

"I'm Merlin," the kindergartener said quietly, but did not take the hand. After an awkward moment, Arthur drew in his hand again.

Arthur bit his lip. "So, um... do you like to read?"

"I can't read good yet, but my mummy reads to me," Merlin offered with a smile.

Arthur smiled back. "And now I will, too!" Merlin’s grin grew wider.

"All right, third graders! Listen up." Arthur turned away from Merlin and faced Mr. Gaius. Once everyone had settled down, he started to speak again. "Today the kindergarteners have chosen books they would like for you to read to them. Your buddy will show you their chosen book. As you finish, I will pass out blank papers and you will help your buddy draw about the story you read. You may begin."

Arthur turned back to Merlin, whose face was now burrowed in his desk. A moment later, he resurfaced with a triumphant look and a large picture book entitled Saint George and the Dragon. Arthur raised his brows. "Um. Is that your book?"

"Yes," Merlin assured him. "It’s about a dragon and a knight."

"Right," Arthur said, flipping through the pages. "It looks pretty long."

"That's okay," Merlin said expectantly. Arthur laughed, letting himself relax more.

"All right, then. Let’s read."

 

~~~

 

The third graders met with their buddies every two weeks to read or do a craft together. Arthur grew to like Merlin a lot and by the time they made a special trip to the library to choose a book for their buddies, he was quite confident in his choice.

Morgause saw him checking out his book, though, and laughed at him. "King Arthur?" she asked, incredulous. "You're only getting that because your name is Arthur. It doesn't make you any smarter or stronger. I bet the real King Arthur would be embarrassed to know you have the same name as him!"

Arthur flushed and took his book from the counter. "It's for Merlin. He's going to like it," Arthur murmured.

Morgause flipped her blond hair over her shoulder, giving him a mean look. "My buddy Freya says that Merlin only pretends to like you. He's just nice to be polite, but he shouldn't bother, if you ask me." Arthur hunched his shoulders and tried to walk away, but Morgause just followed him. "Merlin is Freya’s best friend, and he would rather be buddies with me too."

"Shut up, Morgause," Gwaine said loudly when he heard her last pronouncement. He came to Arthur’s side. "You're just lying to make yourself feel better!"

"Gwaine!" Mr. Gaius called sharply. "We do not yell in the library."

Gwaine nodded meekly and then turned back to glare at Morgause, who was smirking. He clenched his fists, so Arthur led him to the other side of the room and they sat down to wait. "Arthur, why don't you ever stand up for yourself? You let her pick on you all the time."

Arthur shrugged and made a show of looking at the book he had borrowed. Gwaine grabbed it away from him. He was a good friend, but often too pushy. Arthur sighed.

"Seriously, Arthur! You could at least tell a teacher sometimes."

Arthur frowned at Gwaine. "I'm not going to tattle." It was always a toss-up whether other kids would join Morgause or Arthur in their skirmishes, and Arthur did not need to tilt the scales in her favor.

Gwaine groaned, earning a ‘shhh!’ from Mr. Gaius. "You could deal with it yourself," he said darkly.

Arthur looked at his hands. "She's a girl, Gwaine."

"So?" asked his friend.

"So... I can't hit a girl." That was true. Arthur's father had a strict code of conduct and it did not include hitting girls.

"She's a bully," Gwaine said bluntly. "I'm going to tell somebody, if you won't."

Arthur bit his lip. He actually had told someone about his problem; he had told his father. Arthur had not wanted to share this with anyone, but maybe it was time to tell Gwaine. "My father was ashamed of me for getting bullied, especially by a girl. He said I have to figure it out on my own and I told him I did. Please don't tell anyone, Gwaine. He'll hate me." With that, Arthur looked back up at Gwaine, eyes pleading. Gwaine regarded him with worry.

Finally, he said, "Okay." Then, he handed Arthur’s book back and stared down at the carpet. Arthur wondered if Gwaine was angry, but he took a relieved breath, nonetheless. Nothing was worse than disappointing Uther Pendragon.

 

~~~

 

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted and ran to hug Arthur the moment he walked in the door. Arthur hugged back happily, but ushered Merlin back to his desk, so that the teachers didn’t get angry.

He ruffled the younger boy's dark hair and then showed him the book he had picked out at the library. Merlin’s eyes grew wide and round with surprise.

"How did you know?" he asked and took the book reverently.

"Know what?" Arthur quirked a brow. "Do you even know what it says?"

"It's King Arthur, my favorite!" Arthur blushed, and glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "Will and me always play knights of the round table," Merlin explained. "Sometimes, I pretend to be the real Merlin and do magic, and sometimes I am Lancelot. Will likes to be Lancelot too."

Arthur smiled. "Who's Will?" he asked tentatively.

"My best friend," Merlin said, but then he blinked. "Well, he was. Now I have you."

Arthur let himself frown, just a tiny bit. It warmed his heart to hear Merlin say that, but he sort of felt bad for this Will kid. "You can still be best friends with Will, you know..." he suggested.

Merlin cocked his head and drew his brows together. "Yeah..." he amended. "Will's still my best friend too. But you are my King Arthur." Suddenly, he grinned his enormous grin. "It's destiny!"

Arthur couldn’t help but grin in return, laughing because Merlin knew the word ‘destiny’ and because he liked the book Arthur had chosen for him. "Shall we read it?" Arthur asked happily. Merlin scooted over and sat on his lap.

"Yes! Of course!"

 

~~~

 

The next time Arthur saw Merlin, Merlin asked about Morgause. Arthur hated that everyone noticed and probably thought that he was a weakling because he didn't stand up to her. But he bore it all, because she had to stop eventually, and he could handle it. He wanted to make his father proud, to show him that Arthur was both strong and honorable. Morgause’s teasing and the ridicule of the other kids was a small price to pay for that.

But Merlin's innocent "why do you let her be mean to you?" caused him to question his resolution again. How could he explain this to Merlin? He was only five, though he was a very intelligent five-year-old.

"Because it's not important," he said eventually, trying to move away from the subject. Merlin frowned.

"But it is. Your feelings are important." Merlin eyed Morgause, who had gone back to her seat already. "I don't like her."

Arthur followed Merlin’s gaze to where Morgause was reading animatedly to her black-haired buddy. He had never seen her be anything less than nice to Freya. Things would be different if Morgause was picking on other people too, but it was just Arthur. "Don't worry, Merlin," Arthur said softly. "She doesn't bother me too much."

And for the time being, Arthur distracted Merlin with a story of Robin Hood.

 

~~~

 

Arthur instinctively recoiled with the basketball in his arms when Morgause approached him. She regularly tried to steal his ball, because unfortunately, they both actually liked basketball, and the school didn’t have enough balls for everyone. Of course, Morgause knew she could steal from Arthur easily enough.

"Give it here, Arthur," she demanded. Arthur hesitated. It was after school hours, and though he usually waited at the library for his father to get off work, he had no homework today, so he had planned to play basketball for a while first. His sister Morgana was a sixth grader, and technically in charge of him, but she never cared what he did as long as he kept her activities a secret too. If he gave away his ball now, though, he might as well go and sit in the library.

Morgause noticed his hesitation. "Cenred!" she called. Arthur licked his lips, not sure what she was doing. Then a pack of three fifth graders walked up.

"What, Morgause?" one of them demanded.

Morgause put on a fake pout. "He's not sharing!" All three bigger boys turned their attention to Arthur. He might have cowered, just a bit.

Then, he dropped the ball, making sure it didn't roll and Morgause would have to come get it. "Just take it," he said despondently, and turned to go.

"Hey!" shouted the boy who had spoken before. "You better apologize to my sister." Arthur froze and turned around slowly. He raised his brows high and caught a smug look on Morgause’s face. The older boy looked dead serious, though.

Before Arthur could decide whether humiliation or a beating was the better option, a small figure ran up and grabbed the ball. "Leave him alone!" the little boy yelled. It was Merlin, his face in a fierce scowl.

Arthur hadn’t seen Merlin outside of their reading buddies time yet. It was a surprise to meet him after school. He handed the ball to a shocked Arthur and then marched right up to Cenred, his hands on his hips. "Merlin," Arthur tried to warn, but Merlin paid him no mind.

"Arthur had the ball first and doesn't need to say sorry for anything! Morgause is always mean to him and she always gets her way, but it's not fair. She needs to share, not him! And if she just asked, I bet Arthur would do it, too. He's always very nice to everyone. Even your dumb sister!" At that, Cenred put up his hands.

"Hey, kid, if you have a problem with Morgause, take it up with her, I know she can be a brat." He backed away and his two friends followed his lead, one of them snickering.

There was a tense moment as Morgause regarded Arthur, Arthur regarded Merlin, and Merlin regarded Morgause. Finally, Merlin broke the silence with a much quieter, "Just leave him alone."

Arthur shifted, opening his mouth, but Morgause spoke first. "Or what?" she taunted, stepping right up to the small boy. Merlin shoved her, hard, so she fell on the asphalt. Arthur gaped, and then rushed forward, grabbing Merlin’s arm.

"Merlin, let's go," Arthur urged. "You'll get in trouble." Merlin reluctantly let Arthur tug him back. They left Morgause sitting on the ground with a shocked look on her face.

 

~~~

 

Morgause didn’t follow them, so they wandered onto the playground while Arthur tried to explain to Merlin why he could never do something like that again. Merlin apologized for pushing Morgause right away, but he stoutly argued that the other kids were being mean and he was just protecting Arthur. They finally settled it in an uneasy compromise, with Merlin promising to be more careful and Arthur telling himself silently that he would watch out for Merlin.

With that finished, Arthur asked what Merlin was still doing at school. “I usually walk home with Will,” he said. “But today he has to stay and help his teacher clean desks. So I am waiting for him.”

“I’ll wait with you,” Arthur decided. Before he knew it, Merlin had wheedled him into playing Knights of the Round Table and this is what they were doing when a brown-haired boy trudged up to them.

“Who are you?” the boy demanded.

Merlin ran up before Arthur could respond. “Will!” he shouted. “This is Arthur! Remember, my reading buddy? He’s being King Arthur, but I am being Merlin, so you can be Lancelot, if you want.”

Will frowned. He looked like he was Merlin’s age, or maybe a year older, at the most. “We have to go home, Merlin, or your mum will be cross.” Merlin’s face fell.

“Okay,” he told Will, but he turned back to Arthur before leaving. “Will you be here tomorrow, Arthur? I can ask mum if you can come over and play. She’ll make us cookies!”

Arthur bit his lip to keep away a smile. He really shouldn’t be excited about a playdate with a kindergartener, not at all, but he didn’t really care. “Okay, Merlin,” he said, earning himself a hug. He’d have to tell Morgana, but she wouldn’t care, as long as he was at the library at the right time for her to pick him up.

“See you tomorrow, Arthur!” Merlin called as he trotted away with Will.

Arthur waved back. “See you.”

 

~~~

 

Morgause didn’t really stop after that day, but she definitely backed off, especially if Merlin was around. Apparently being shoved by a kindergartener was embarrassing enough that she wanted to avoid it happening again. Arthur never had to protect Merlin at all. Gwaine wore a smug look for a few days as well, but he wouldn’t admit to anything, so Arthur dropped it. Either way, after a while, Morgause lost interest.

Arthur began to spend the afternoon at Merlin’s house at least once a week. Merlin’s mum was very kind and never minded having him over and made snacks when he did. She also watched Will until his own mum got home, so Arthur usually had to include him, but he got used to it, because Merlin really was special, even if Will was not. He loved spending time with the younger, bright-eyed boy.

When summer came around, Arthur became worried that he wouldn’t see Merlin anymore, since they wouldn’t be reading buddies, but it was not worth worrying over at that point. Merlin came to Arthur near the end of school with an invitation to his birthday party in two weeks, and Merlin’s mom gave Arthur their home phone number. She assured him that he could call and come over anytime, and that Merlin loved his company. She even thanked him for being a good friend to her son.

Arthur blushed at that and shook his head. “It’s really Merlin who has been a good friend to me.” That brought a smile to her face. At that point, Merlin finished in the bathroom, and he came to grab Arthur’s hand and pull him away.

“Come on, Arthur, you’re wasting time,” he grumbled. Arthur chuckled and followed after his friend.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by watching the third graders in the class I teach bond with their kindergarten buddies. I also borrowed from a friend I had in elementary school who was four years younger than me. I think it turned out pretty well, but tell me what you think! Thanks!


End file.
